grammar question

Hi all,
I've just started reading a new novel written in 3rd person, omni. When the narrator reveals the main characters thoughts (not actual words), they are in double quotation marks. Is that typical? For instance:
Joe was amazed at the way his dog could read his emotions and thought "Wow, it's like he can see through me,".

I'm a new writer so I've begun to really study grammar structure (along with a hundred other things) when I read. Quotations marks used for thoughts seemed odd to me.
TK

Re: grammar question

I know Self-Editing for Fiction Writers (Browne & King) suggests "dispensing with any thinker attributions along the way," to give a distinct voice for narrative vs. interior monologue in third-person narrative.

E.g.: Had I meant to kill her? he thought.

Could be changed to: Had he meant to kill her?

They also suggest you can use italics sparingly, again without thinker attribution (and yes, this is also for third-person narrative):